Skip to main content

Uganda facts

UGANDA FACTS

Uganda gained Independence from the United Kingdom on October 9, 1962

Total Area: 241,038 sq km

Borders: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania

Natural Resources: Copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land and gold

Population: 34-35 million with 4.7% being Acholi

Population below Poverty line: Nationally 35%, Northern Uganda 65%

Median Age of Population: 15.1 yrs

Life Expectancy: 53.24 yrs

GDP: $17,010,765,767 USD

Currency: Ugandan Shilling

(CIA Factbook)


A reminder: Kony now is in the jungles of Congo, creating havoc and heart-ache there, just as he did here in Northern Uganda and in South Sudan. Here's one NGO's take on the last two decades of conflict:

OVER 2 DECADES OF CONFLICT

The conflict in Northern Uganda is one of the longest running conflicts in Africa and has spread to neighbouring countries. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was created in 1986 to fight a spiritual war on behalf of the Acholi people. It is led by Kony Joseph and its original goal was to overthrow the Museveni Government and replace it with one based on the biblical ten commandments. In recent years, this political motivation has been questioned.

In the early nineties, the LRA began large scale abductions and attacks against Acholi civilians. In total, 1 in 3 boys and 1 in 6 girls were abducted in Northern Uganda; for a total of 66,000 children. These children were forced to take up arms against their communities and innocent civilians. They were forced to serve as sex slaves, labourers and porters. At the peak of the conflict over 1.8 million people or 80% of the population were internally displaced, living in camps. This led to disruptions in education, the provision of services and economic activity; with many people forced to live off begging.

The 2006 ceasefire and Juba Peace Talks increased hope amongst the people, and large scale movement from the camps began in 2008. Unfortunately, Kony refused to sign the Final Agreement in 2008 and the LRA is continuing with their abductions and attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan.

The Acholi people continue to hope for a resolution to this conflict, and believe that peace will come from mediation rather than military action.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Check out this progress!

A year ago, my friend Rachel http://josiecomehome.blogspot.com/ emailed a photo of her beautiful son standing on his own... I've since dreamed of having a photo to post of Gracie doing the same thing. It was always one of those wild-don't-think-it'll-ever-happen kind of dreams, a romantic, fairy tale type of dream. But this week, Gracie made another leap in development and muscle tone. It started when I leaned her up against the wall and planted her feet a shoulder-width apart. For the first time, she didn't lunge for the safety of my arms or hands, but rather, she allowed herself to stand steadily on her own two feet and she kept her center of gravity centered over her feet instead of wildly in front of her or to one side or the other. She even quickly figured out that she couldn't lurch around in excitement while standing on her own two feet with no support but a wall behind her back, but rather had to express her excitement over this new development with a gentl...
4 comments
Read more

Family of Three!

We are in Liberia - the electricity goes in and out because the generator is having trouble keeping up these days! So hopefully it will stay on long enough to post and the internet connection will allow me this luxury! We were united with precious Gracie on Thanksgiving day - I will write more about this later. But, oh! is Gracie a joy! She is so beautiful, so joyfilled, and a bit mischievious. Her physical limitations do not permit her to accomplish much mischief, but we can tell that she is trying to push some limits already. If we were not in love with her already, she is irresitable and such a treasure and blessing from God. In our two days together, she has not cried once. She spends most of her days smiling, she loves to snuggle (good match for us!), and has the most contagious laugh! Life takes more effort for her - her cerebral palsy is moderate and every activity is a challenge and is clearly tiring for her. Meal times (which she loves) take a long time and much patience and d...
6 comments
Read more

Ana Gail Rattin

Ana Gail Rattin (pronounced Ah-nah) Born December 5th, 2007 at 5:35pm at 42 weeks weighing 7lb 8oz, 21 3/4 inches long Some adventures at birth, but everyone's doing great now! Read Luke 2:36-38!
5 comments
Read more